Post WWII
Farewell to the ‘40's
Packards and Hudsons which have been parked for years are sputtering and backfiring announcing the end of gas rationing. The days of making margarine look like butter by adding yellow food coloring were over. World peace is upon us…OOPS!, look out! Here comes the RED menace!
Kids are moaning about returning to school, but secretly anxious to meet up with their old buddies and make some new friends. The old desks at P.S. 51 still had a hole where the ink wells once nestled. In an effort to control God-knows-what the boys had to enter at one end of the school and the girls at the other.
Our German Shepherd, Yinky, had been honorably discharged from the Marines, but was having trouble adjusting to civilian life. He became overly protective of our family and began snapping at children he thought were posing a threat to us. We found a home for him with a farmer who needed a good watchdog for his livestock.
One of the traits, for better or worse, I learned from my father was that if there was some new gadget that you REALLY wanted, you do what you must do to get it; pay 20% interest on a loan, promise your 1st born to the devil, whatever. Mom said we couldn’t afford a TV. Dad said “I’m going to see Rose,” who I imagined was some benevolent rich relative. Later, I learned that “Rose” was Rose Shanis, a storefront loan business. We had the 1st TV in the neighborhood.
What a thrill to try to keep the test patterns straight on that 8 inch screen with the horizontal and vertical adjustment knobs until an actual show came on. There were three colors, white, black, and shades of grey. Shows were “live” so the flubs were often the most entertaining part of the program. Tuesday nights were “wrasslin” events and our living room was full of neighbors anxious to see if “Gorgeous George” could vanquish his latest foe.
Packards and Hudsons which have been parked for years are sputtering and backfiring announcing the end of gas rationing. The days of making margarine look like butter by adding yellow food coloring were over. World peace is upon us…OOPS!, look out! Here comes the RED menace!
Kids are moaning about returning to school, but secretly anxious to meet up with their old buddies and make some new friends. The old desks at P.S. 51 still had a hole where the ink wells once nestled. In an effort to control God-knows-what the boys had to enter at one end of the school and the girls at the other.
Our German Shepherd, Yinky, had been honorably discharged from the Marines, but was having trouble adjusting to civilian life. He became overly protective of our family and began snapping at children he thought were posing a threat to us. We found a home for him with a farmer who needed a good watchdog for his livestock.
One of the traits, for better or worse, I learned from my father was that if there was some new gadget that you REALLY wanted, you do what you must do to get it; pay 20% interest on a loan, promise your 1st born to the devil, whatever. Mom said we couldn’t afford a TV. Dad said “I’m going to see Rose,” who I imagined was some benevolent rich relative. Later, I learned that “Rose” was Rose Shanis, a storefront loan business. We had the 1st TV in the neighborhood.
What a thrill to try to keep the test patterns straight on that 8 inch screen with the horizontal and vertical adjustment knobs until an actual show came on. There were three colors, white, black, and shades of grey. Shows were “live” so the flubs were often the most entertaining part of the program. Tuesday nights were “wrasslin” events and our living room was full of neighbors anxious to see if “Gorgeous George” could vanquish his latest foe.
posted by revsnodgrass | 9:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home